Golfers can currently select from a wide variety of golf clubs produced by a number of different golf club manufacturers. According to the advertisements, each different set of golf clubs offers some advantage, such as less weight, a stiffer shaft, an enlarged head, peripheral weighting, etc. The variety of golf clubs is at least partly due to the longstanding debate as to whether the performance of a golf club, i.e., the distance with which a golfer can hit a golf ball with the golf club, or the consistency of a golf club, i.e., the accuracy with which a golfer can hit a golf ball with the golf club, is more important. As might be expected, a number of golf clubs are therefore currently available that emphasize performance, a number of golf clubs are currently available that emphasize consistency and a number of golf clubs are currently available that are advertised to provide both performance and consistency.
Typically, a highly skilled golfer will prefer a golf club capable of the greatest performance since the skill of the golfer can compensate for any inconsistency or inaccuracy. Conversely, a less proficient player will generally select a club that provides greater consistency and greater accuracy even though the golfer may not hit the golf ball as far with the particular club. Even within these general categories, however, a wide variety of golf clubs are available. As such, a golfer oftentimes has difficulty in determining which set of golf clubs would be most appropriate for their game.
In order to assist golfers in selecting the appropriate set of golf clubs for their game, many golf professionals offer club fitting services. Most club fitting services involve a golfer hitting several shots from a tee box at a practice range with each of a number of different clubs of the same type. Although shots can be hit for club fitting purposes with any of the clubs, a golfer typically hits several shots with each of a number of different 5 irons. A 5 iron is generally selected for club fitting purposes since the shots hit with a mid-iron, such as a 5 iron, are likely to be somewhat representative of shots hit with other clubs of the same set. Based upon the shots hit at the practice range, the golf professional and the golfer would typically discuss the manner in which the golfer had hit shots with each of the clubs. Based on these conversations, the golfer could then select the set of clubs which appeared to best fit their game.
As will be apparent, conventional techniques for club fitting involve extremely subjective judgments, both on the part of the golfer and the golf professional. As such, the golfer will not necessarily select the proper set of clubs for their game since the subjective judgments are often based upon the appearance or feel of the various sets of golf clubs as opposed to the manner in which the golfer hits golf shots with the sets of golf clubs. As a result of the relatively high cost of a set of golf clubs, the selection of a set of clubs which is not properly fit to the golfer's game will not only limit the golfer's game, but may also prove to be a costly mistake if the golfer decides that they must purchase yet another set of clubs in order to improve their game.